COMMUNITY FORUM

rubber roof

I have a home with a flat roof. The roof had rolled roofing covered with tar and silver paint. Now I am being told a rubber roof would be put on over the existing roof... is this ok? All I can find on the internet is rubber roofing for mobile homes.

There is an excellent product on the market named SunFlex. SunFlex is not a DIY product, it can only be applied by a professional SunFlex installer. It is UV resistant and will not shrink over time. It can be applied in light or darker colors depending on your desired thermal properties. You should be able to get a 10 to 20 year warranty with the product. Email me with any questions, [email protected]

Here's a link to just one of the manufacturers of EPDM rubber roofing.

http://www.genflex.com/products/products_epdm.php

Things to keep in mind when considering a rubber roof:

They are either fulley adhered, or fully ballasted {covered with gravel or rocks}. Either way they're generally installed over some type of board which is installed over the roof deck. The board can be wood fiber, foam insulation, etc.

Although the rubber itself is inexpensive, the various glues, adhesives, caulkings, boards, etc. bumps the cost of material up there several times over. As such, I would highly recommend you have all the old roofing removed first so that you get the full potential benefit of a completed EPDM system.

EPDM is in wide use on commercial/industrial structures. One of it good features is that it can be obtained in huge sheets such as 20ft. by 100ft., meaning fewer seams to contend with. One drawback is that down the road, the seams can fail, requiring repairs. Of course ALL flat roofing systems require repairs at some point.